Intersecting Deductions
by crazysockmonkeys
Summary: When it is discovered that FULCRUM has released their own strange form of an intersect, Sarah, Chuck, and Casey are assigned to go to Santa Barbara to investigate.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hello there! I just wanted to say that this story takes place in season two of Chuck/season three of Psych. Enjoy, everyone!**

* * *

Chuck popped another jellybean into his mouth, oddly intrigued by the nature documentary playing in the Buy More home theater room. Strangely, the day's events had been uneventful. Jeff and Lester, as far as Chuck knew, were safely tucked behind the Nerd Herd counter, and Morgan had last been seen talking with Big Mike. Anna was on lunch break, and he himself was...well, slacking off, not that he had anything better to do.

In an instant, Casey burst through the door in his usual intimidating manner. "Come on, Bartowski, General Beckman wants us at Castle."

"Why?"

"I don't know, moron, she didn't tell me. Just come on."

"Okay." He jammed the half-empty jellybean bag in his back pocket and followed Casey down to Castle.

When they had arrived, Sarah was already standing in front of the screen where General Beckman's face usually appeared. "Hey, Chuck. Casey."

"Hi Sarah," Chuck replied.

"Afternoon, Walker."

"Any word on what General Beckman wanted to talk to us about?" Chuck asked her.

"No. I'm assuming we're getting a new mission, but she didn't tell me anything about it."

At that moment, General Beckman began the conference call. "Good afternoon, team. I hope none of you have plans this weekend."

Chuck began, "Well, actually, Ellie wants me to..."

General Beckman glared.

"Never mind," Chuck finished.

"I'm asking each of you to embark on a very detailed assignment," continued Beckman. "Early last week one of our agents made a startling discovery. FULCRUM has developed their form of an Intersect, although thankfully it isn't as dangerous as what Mr. Bartowski possesses. This program allows for sharpened senses, which allows those who have it to perform detailed deductions."

"Like Sherlock Holmes?" Asked Chuck.

"Essentially," General Beckman answered. "This was released about three years ago, even before the actual Intersect Chuck has was developed. We received information that between five and ten people have been exposed to this program, all living within the state of California. Since one of the men suspected of having it lives and works in the city of Santa Barbara, I have assigned you three to drive there and investigate him."

"Who is he?" Sarah asked.

"Our suspicions lie mainly on a man named Shawn Spencer." General Beckman's face was replaced on the screen by a picture of a younger man with an average build and brown hair. Chuck looked at the photo intensely, but didn't flash.

"I'm not getting anything, I'm not flashing," said Chuck to the General.

"I thought you might not," she said back. "It's likely that he's only a citizen that FULCRUM pulled in to test their system on. He may or may not be doing work for FULCRUM outside of their main database. As you can tell, there are a lot of unknown details still to be discovered."

"What's the job, General?" said Casey.

"For the past _three years, _Spencer has been working as a so-called "psychic detective" along with his associate, one Burton Guster. He is often called in as a consultant for the Santa Barbara police department, but he and Guster will also do cases for hire. Tomorrow, Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski will drive to Mr. Spencer's office and ask for help in locating a man who doesn't exist. I'm sending over a file with everything you will need to know about this fake case you will be taking to him. You will observe him and follow him as he does his job. Watch for anomalies that might indicate that he has some sort of Intersect. Major Casey, you will be on surveillance. Follow Agent Walker and Mr. Bartowski when they are with Spencer and even Guster. If you feel like you might need to follow anyone else linked with Mr. Spencer, go ahead. This could potentially be a very dangerous mission for all of you. If he does have the abilities he's suspected of, it will be easier for him to uncover your identities. And Chuck?"

"Yes, General?"

"While you are in the Santa Barbara area, I want you with Agent Walker or Major Casey _at all times." _

"Uh, yes ma'am."

"Thank you, team, and good luck." With that, General Beckman ended the call.

* * *

"Chuck, just relax."

"Sarah, I can't relax! General Beckman made this mission seem really scary."

Sarah and Chuck had just parked outside the Psych Detective Agency office but hadn't gotten out of the car yet. It was a cloudy mid-morning, and Chuck was immeasurably tired. All three members of Operation Bartowski had stayed up late the following day studying the fake case file that General Beckman had sent over. They had even had to look over previous cases that Shawn Spencer had solved, because Sarah wanted to make it look like she was a big fan of the man and his work.

"Chuck, as usual, it's unnecessary to be scared. Yes, this case is risky, but I'll be right there the whole time. Now come on, let's go."

Sarah opened and shut her car door and Chuck did the same. Casey was down the street in a surveillance van. Everything was ready, and Chuck was insanely nervous.

As the two walked through the door of the Psych office, the first thing they saw was popped popcorn scattered across the floor. No voices could be heard, but there was a very faint sound in the air—chewing. As Sarah and Chuck came into the main area of the office, they saw two men at separate desks with their faces buried in two large bowls of popcorn, eating quickly and ravenously. It was a very strange and humorous situation, and Chuck couldn't help but laugh. At the sound, the two men lifted up their heads and stared. "Oh, sorry," said the guy that the two recognized to be Shawn Spencer. "We were just having a...popcorn eating contest. You know, like you do on a Saturday afternoon it's cloudy out." He paused, taking a long look at Sarah. He raised his eyebrows. "Hello there." The other man, who was about the same height as Shawn, black, and smartly dressed, came and did something similar, fixing his glance on Sarah. "Is there something we can help you guys with?" He asked with a casual smile.

Sarah batted her eyelashes flirtatiously and Chuck rolled his eyes. "Are you Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster?" She asked.

"Please, please," said Shawn's associate in a very suave manner. "Call me Gus."

"Or, call him "Honey Bear." He likes that too," said Shawn.

"That's not true," said Gus, glaring at him. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah Walker."

Chuck spoke, trying to call attention to himself. "And my name is Charles Carmichael. I-"

"Charles Carmichael? Are you serious, man? That's like the coolest name ever," said Shawn. "But can I call you Charlie? Les? Carl? Chuck?"

Chuck's ears perked up, and Shawn continued, "Well, there's no way I can possibly choose, so I guess they'll all have to do. Anyways, what are you guys doing here? What's up?"

"Let me just say first that I am your biggest fan, Mr. Spencer," said Sarah, carefully scooting closer to him and allowing their shoulders to touch. Chuck rolled his eyes again, trying to be inconspicuous. "That's why I know you'll be able to find Brent."

"Who's that?" Asked Shawn.

"My neighbor. We were close."

"How close? Boyfriend? Or is Charles here your beau?"

"No, I'm single. Charles is just my friend, and so is Brent."

"I see. And what happened to him?"

"I don't know. Nobody does.I guess he just left without a trace. His car is gone, if that helps."

"It does, Sarah, thank you. Have you filed a missing person's report with the police department?"

"No. I don't know how long he's been gone. I only just noticed it, but I called his parents and they told me that they hadn't heard from him since Thursday."

"Should we visit Jules and Lassiter, Shawn?" Asked Gus.

"Good idea, my friend," Shawn answered. "Come along, Sarah, Gus, Charlesy, it's off to the police station."


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck, Sarah, Gus, and Shawn all piled in to Gus' small, bright blue car and headed to the police station. Chuck only half listened as Gus and Shawn gabbed on and on. He wondered if Casey was following them in the van, and if Sarah had managed to successfully hide an audio bug somewhere in the Psych office as planned. For a moment, he allowed his thoughts to slow down and he began to listen to the car.

"Just so you know, I am also in the pharmaceutical business," Gus said. He used his rear view mirror to raise his eyebrows at Sarah. "I do very well for myself."

"So I've heard," said Sarah with a smile.

"And the spirits have made me very successful as well," said Shawn. "As you may be aware of, last year I discovered and dug up dinosaur fossils, all by using my psychic powers."

"I was there too, Shawn," said Gus.

"Wrong, Bruton Gaster was there."

Gus smiled again at Sarah. "They got my name wrong in the newspaper."

Sarah giggled. "I remember that! That was very impressive, Shawn. Your talents amaze me."

Gus looked slightly annoyed.

Sarah continued. "You're just so thrilling. I mean, who could forget when you saved the judge of that one show..."

"American Duos!" Exclaimed Chuck. The other three in the car looked at him. "I...uh, love that show."

"Charlie, am I sensing that you happen to be a fan of my expertise as well?" Asked Shawn.

"Uh, Sarah has told me about some of your cases."

"I see, I see." At that moment, Gus parked the car and the four began to walk to the station. Once inside, Chuck looked around curiously at all the uniformed and well-dressed people buzzing around. He followed Shawn and Gus to the desk of a blonde woman whom Chuck guessed was probably about his age.

"Hey, Jules," said Shawn.

The woman looked up from her computer. "Shawn, Gus, what are you guys doing here?" She glanced curiously at Chuck and Sarah; then stood up with a bright smile on her face.

"Jules, this is the lovely Sarah Walker and the illusive Mr. Charles Carmichael, who has the coolest title in the history of the world," Shawn introduced.

She shook the hands of both Chuck and Sarah and said, "I'm Detective Juliet O'Hara. It's nice to meet you both."

"Same here," voiced Chuck.

"We've just been privately hired by Sarah and Charles," said Gus to Juliet. "We wanted to ask you if there have been any reports made about a Brent..."

"Calloway," finished Sarah.

"Brent Calloway."

"Well," said Juliet, "I haven't heard anything, but I'll run his name through the database. One second." She sat back down at her desk and Chuck heard keyboard keys clacking. "Is this him?" She asked Sarah, turning the screen to her. Chuck indeed recognized the picture from the phony case file. It was so interesting to him how the NSA had managed to put such detail into the file of someone who wasn't even real.

"Yes," said Sarah. "That's definitely him."

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid dear Mr. Calloway is missing, Jules," said Shawn.

"How long has he been gone?"

"I'm not sure, but no one's heard from him since Thursday," Sarah stated, and Chuck could tell she was trying to establish pain in her voice.

"Well, we can definitely file a missing person's report," said Juliet.

"Maybe that would be best," said Sarah. "Is there any way that maybe we could get a warrant so that Shawn could investigate Brent's place?"

"Shawn, Gus, why don't you go with Ms. Walker to ask Chief Vick? She's not in right now, but she should be back any minute."

"Thank you for your help, Detective," said Sarah.

"Thank you so much, Jules," said Shawn.

Chuck turned to follow the three into the chief's office, but Sarah motioned for him to stay. He wondered why until he saw her lean her shoulder against Shawn's and hook her hand into his. Looking over at Juliet, Chuck saw her staring at the two intertwined hands curiously, almost in a jealous fashion, but after a few moments she distracted herself by looking to Chuck. He himself couldn't help but look at the display in a manner much the same. "Uh, can I get you anything, Mr. Carmichael? There's coffee, of course, and I think there's actually a muffin left today. Usually there's not."

"No, but, uh, thanks."

Juliet nodded and smiled. She sat down at her computer and began to type once more while Chuck looked around. After a few moments, she said, "Would you like to sit down? I could get you a chair."

Chuck decided that maybe a chair would be nice and told Juliet so. She retrieved a chair from a nearby unoccupied desk and rolled it to hers. Chuck thanked her and she went back to work. To fill time, he watched what was going on with Sarah, Shawn, and Gus, but was distracted when a tall, thin, authoritative-looking man came to the desk Juliet had take the chair from, stared at it in confusion, took a brief look around, and walked straight up to her desk. "O'Hara, where's my chair?" He asked, obviously annoyed. The man noticed Chuck for the first time and stared at what he was sitting in. "Who is this?" He asked in the same tone as before.

"Carlton, this is Charles Carmichael, and he is a client of Shawn and Gus. He is waiting for his...friend?" She said, looking at Chuck as if to ask him of what relation he was to Sarah.

"Yeah, she's my...she's my friend," said Chuck.

"...he is waiting for his friend to finish talking to the chief," she finished.

"And why is my-"

"I gave him your chair because you're supposed to be on your lunch break, Carlton."

Chuck got up quickly. "He can have the chair, really, it's fine."

Juliet frowned at Carlton. "Anyways, Mr. Carmichael, this is my partner, Carlton Lassiter. He's the Head Detective of this station, and he can get another chair."

"You get another chair, O'Hara, and give Carmichael yours."

"Carlton..." She sighed. "Fine. Carlton gets his chair, and Mr. Carmichael, you can have mine. I'll get one from the conference room."

"Actually, I'll stand. Really, I don't mind at all," said Chuck.

"Are you sure?" Said Juliet.

"You heard him, O'Hara, he's fine," said Lassiter.

She rolled her eyes as Carlton rolled his seat back to his desk. "Sorry," she said to Chuck. "Usually we get along much better than that."

"I understand," said Chuck, thinking about his fellow Nerd Herders.

At that moment, Sarah, Shawn, and Gus came out of the chief's office, Sarah and Shawn still holding hands.

"Well, Carl Carmichael," said Shawn, "looks like we're off to investigate Brent's place."

"Good," said Chuck.

Shawn said goodbye to Juliet on his way out and Chuck did the same. As they left the police station, Chuck saw the white surveillance van that Casey as in just down the street. He began to think about what sort of things Casey was analyzing about Shawn and Gus, and also about Juliet and Lassiter. Chuck hadn't been on this case for too long, but he already thought that it was one of the most interesting missions he had ever been assigned.


	3. Chapter 3

When they had reached the supposed residence of Brent Calloway, Shawn, Gus, Sarah, and Chuck stood on the porch, staring at the small house. The door was found unlocked, as Sarah and Chuck expected, and the four walked right in. Chuck was amazed at the details that had been put into Brent's house. Just like when he and Sarah had gone undercover as a married couple, the man's face had been put into pictures and mail had been printed with his name on it. The place had been left in the normal disarray that often occurred in the house of someone not expecting company, with Brent's bed unmade and the rugs on the floor crooked.

Shawn closed his eyes and brought his fingers to his temples. "I'm sensing...a man, a man named...All Over. No, Olive. Oliver. Ollie! Yes, Ollie. Ollie...Jenkins." Chuck studied his face to see if it looked like an Intersect was working in Shawn's head, but he couldn't tell. Shawn then went over to Brent's desk and picked up a business card that said:

_Ollie Jenkins  
Solid Ground Auto and Body Shop  
555-345-8903_

Chuck found it amazing that Shawn was able to pick out a name and card from such a messy desk. His thoughts were mixed. He didn't really believe in psychics, but maybe Shawn was telling the truth. Then again, someone with a remarkable ability to deduce might notice the same thing, and if that were true, then the suspicions that the NSA had about him were probably correct.

"Sarah, has Brent gotten into a car accident recently?" Asked Shawn.

"Not that I know of. Last time I saw it, his car looked fine. He loves it."

"Do you think maybe he could have taken it in for something really small? I mean, if he loves his car so much, he would have done anything to make sure it was in tip-top shape, right?" Gus said. "But, maybe Brent kept this card around just in case something happened."

"You're absolutely right, Gus. That is why I am going to put this card into Sarah's soft, capable, and responsible hands." Shawn smiled and gently gave the card to Sarah. The search continued.

Nothing else irregular or promising was found. There were no indications of a break-in or even a struggle. Chuck knew that this "case" had been made extra difficult on purpose to test Shawn's capabilities. So far, however, he seemed to be on the right track.

After the entire house had been scanned, Shawn suggested, "Lunch, anyone? It's Gus' treat." Gus glared at his friend once more. Sarah looked at Chuck. "Lunch sounds nice," she said.

All throughout lunch, Shawn and Gus continued to talk and talk, but never uttered a word that would confirm any suspicions the NSA had. Shawn and Sarah made googly eyes at each other as they ate, and it became noticeable that Gus had given up on trying to woo her. After the meal was completed and lunch was paid for (by Gus, of course), Sarah said that the two investigators had done more than enough today, and that she and Charles would return the next day.

After Sarah and Chuck had gotten into Sarah's car, they drove around the block once to make sure the men in the Psych office didn't see them; then pulled up next to the surveillance van and climbed inside.

Casey was listening to the voices of Shawn and Gus through the bug that Sarah had planted in the office. "So far they haven't said anything that might be helpful to us," said Casey, and they continued listening.

"Ah man, I forgot about all this popcorn we have to clean up," said Shawn. "I can't believe Sarah saw us doing that."

"Whatever, Shawn. It was your idea," Gus said.

"Yeah, and it was fun. I won, by the way."

Gus sighed. "What do you think of this case?"

"I don't know, truth is, I'm stumped at the moment. The only lead we have is that business card, and that could be nothing. We'll have to call the number today and ask about Brent. Honestly, the case is toward the bottom of my list. I have a really good feeling about me and Sarah."

"Really? What about Juliet?"

"What about Jules?"

"Nothing, never mind. Besides, Shawn, I don't really you and Sarah being involved is such a good idea. She seems to really be attracted to your so-called psychic abilities. I mean, what happens when she finds out you're not really psychic?"

Chuck's eyebrows popped up as he exchanged looks with Sarah and Casey. Shawn continued. "Look man, I don't know, but we've only known each other for a few hours and already I feel a serious connection to her. That's gotta mean something."

"Maybe. I'm going home, Shawn."

"No, stay and watch _The X-Files _with me."

"Shawn, you know that show freaks me out."

"Come on, please? We'll pick a non-scary one."

"They're all at least a little bit creepy."

Their conversation went back and forth for a little while longer until Casey turned the audio off in the van. "Good work Casey, Chuck," said Sarah. "I'd say we accomplished a good amount today."

"We now know the suspect isn't psychic, so either he's a very good detective or he has a Intersect," said Casey.

"I don't know," said Chuck. "I was watching him, and I really couldn't tell if he had an Intersect for not."

"I'll use my influence on Shawn to get closer to him. Maybe I can get him to talk," said Sarah.

Chuck felt uncomfortable with that idea, but he realized that it was probably the best way of doing things. Later, Sarah, Casey and Chuck returned to Castle to make their report to General Beckman. They told her what they had overheard and how Shawn and Gus worked.

"And General," Casey stated, "I would like to officially state that as of tomorrow I am starting surveillance on Detective Juliet O'Hara."

"What?" Said Chuck. "Why?"

"She seems to have a connection to the suspect, General," Sarah answered. "And if she is working with Spencer, she would have access to the police department's files."

General Beckman nodded. "I did give Major Casey permission to perform surveillance when he felt that it was needed, and from what I'm hearing, this is one of those situations."

"O'Hara seems to have a model record," said Casey. "But it's always better to be safe than sorry."

"Why do you always have to go after the nice people?" Asked Chuck.

"I can't exactly answer that, Mr. Bartowski," said Beckman. "But remember that everyone is suspicious in this case. Goodnight, team, and good luck tomorrow."

As Chuck drove home, he almost felt sad. He liked the people in this case, even if they were mysterious and frightening. He liked Shawn, he liked Gus, and he liked Juliet. That Lassiter guy seemed kind of grumpy, but maybe he wasn't that bad. After he had gotten home, he got a glass of milk and sat down at the table with Ellie. He felt better after talking with her for a few moments, and as he brushed his teeth he tried to change his perspective on the whole situation. He did his best, but even then he found it hard to not care about the people he had met that day.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Chuck woke up bright and early, hoping to get a few hours of work in at the Buy More before going back to Santa Barbara with Sarah and Casey. He had managed to get himself completely ready for the work day when Sarah called, saying that Shawn had called her and had asked her to come to the Psych office immediately because he had pertinent information.

When he had arrived at Castle, Chuck changed his clothes and he and Sarah began to make the trip to Santa Barbara, with Casey driving the white van behind them. "So, what do you think about, uh...Shawn?" He asked her once in the car.

"What do you mean? As a _person? _Chuck, you can't possibly think I'd actually be interested in him!"

"I don't. I mean, I didn't. It's just that he's...you're not, are you?"

"Chuck, I'm just doing my job."

"Actually, when I asked you what you thought about him, I meant to ask if you thought he was FULCRUM."

"Why didn't you just say so?"

"Because I-" He stopped. "Never mind."

"I'm not sure. He's lying to nearly everyone about being psychic, and I don't know how likely it is that he could be performing at that level without having an Intersect."

Chuck nodded in understanding. "What about Gus?"

"Guster probably isn't working directly for FULCRUM, but if Shawn is, he probably knows a lot."

They were silent for a little while until Chuck changed the subject and they began talking about something different. He knew that Sarah was probably right, unfortunately, no matter how likeable these suspects were.

When Chuck and Sarah entered the Psych office, they found Shawn and Gus to be sitting at their computers. Shawn jumped up when he saw them. "Good morning, Sarah. Charlie."

"Good morning, Shawn," Sarah said in a very smooth tone.

Gus got up from his chair and walked over to join the other three. "We have some more information on your case, Sarah. Yesterday, after you guys left, Shawn got a _vivid _premonition about that body shop we found the business card for. Even though he gave the card to Sarah, he was able to see the number in his mind and called it."

"I wasn't able to get Ollie on the phone because...wait for iiiiiiiiiiiiit..." Shawn slowly raised up his hand and then brought it down in one swift motion. "He's been on vacation for a few days now, and nobody knows where or even when he'll be back."

"Shawn and I also asked about Brent's passed dealings with the place and found out that he went to get his oil changed there on Tuesday, exactly one day before Ollie left for vacation, and two days before Brent went missing," Gus said.

Chuck had to keep himself from smiling. This was all so cool! Everything was going just as the counterfeit case file had directed.

"So...this is all about Brent's car?" Sarah asked.

"Maybe," Gus answered. "Today, we're planning on making a visit to the body shop so that Shawn can do his thing."

"Yes, I need to touch, feel, sense, even though the inflection of someone's voice can tell me volumes psychically," Shawn added. "And after we're done at the body shop, we'll go back to police station and talk to Jules."

The fake body shop surpassed Chuck's expectations by a landslide. There were cars of every make and model everywhere with their hoods open or with someone under them. Workers with dirtied uniforms and stained rags milled around everywhere. Oil stains had been put on the floor here and there. Chuck found it amazing the length that the NSA was going to on this case.

Shawn walked up to a random worker and asked about a Mr. Fargo. They were directed to a man in normal clothes sitting in an office alongside garage. Chuck hadn't seen the man before, but to him it was obvious that he was an undercover NSA agent.

"Hello there, Mr. Fargo. I'm Shawn Spencer, head psychic for the SBPD, and this is my associate, Lucky Charmer." Gus gave a sly smile and Chuck and Sarah stared in confusion. "We spoke on the phone yesterday," Shawn continued.

"Oh yeah, yeah, you wanted to know about Ollie. Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you much more. All I know is, on Tuesday the guy you asked about brought in his car for an oil change. We asked our new guy, Harold, to take care of it, and he did. Wednesday morning, I got a call from Ollie saying he'd be gone for a while, he didn't know how long. I don't know anything else."

"Might you know where we could find this...Harold?" Shawn questioned.

"Yeah, he's right over there."

Harold was short and skinny, and a baseball cap covered his wavy red hair. Shawn and Gus approached him and the other two followed. "Hello, Harold," Gus greeted. "We need to ask a few questions. We work for the police. Would you remember doing an oil change an a particular car on Tuesday?"

"I do oil changes all the time. Let's see, Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday..."

"It's a two-door, dark blue convertible. That's all I know, I'm sorry," Sarah said.

"Ah, yes, I remember now," said Harold. "It was a nice car, but I remember something strange about it. There was a paint scratch along the bottom of the door, and there seemed to be some sort of gold foil or something underneath the blue, and it wasn't paint. I asked Ollie about it, because he's very schooled when it comes to cars, and he told me he'd take a look at it. Then I went home."

"Thank you very much, Harold," said Gus.

As they all walked out of the fabricated body shop, Shawn stopped in the middle of the small parking lot and closed his eyes, reached his hands out in front of him, gripped air, and acted like he was steering a car. "Sarah was right! I'm sensing that this is all about Brent's car. Yes, the car. The car is the key! And I'm also sensing Ollie. Ollie is putting out terrible vibrations. We have to go tell Jules."

When they had reached the police station, Sarah and Chuck had to walk quickly to keep up with the swift paces of Shawn and Gus. When they had reached Juliet's desk, Shawn dramatically through his hands in the air and threw them onto the surface.

"Shawn, what are you doing?" Juliet said.

"Quickly, Jules, look up the name Ollie Jenkins."

"Oh, is this for your missing person's case?" She asked, looking at Chuck and Sarah.

"Yes, and we think we have a good lead. Look him up, look him up!" Shawn whined, shaking his hands.

"Okay, okay, just calm down, Shawn." She quickly typed in the name and looked back up at him. "Everything looks normal."

"No accounts of embezzlement or any other sort of outrageous thievery?"

Juliet shook her head.

"All right, that's okay. I can still work with that." Shawn began to pace; then suddenly stopped. "I have a theory."

"What is it?" Asked Sarah.

"Sarah, are any of Brent's relatives scandalously rich?"

"Yeah, I think his uncle was. He died last year. In fact, I think Brent inherited the car from his uncle."

Shawn closed his eyes tightly yet again. "Yes, yes, I see it now. After the passing of his uncle, Brent gets a magnificent car, but unbeknownst to everyone else, under the smooth blue paint is a layer of gold."

"Gold? Shawn, are you crazy?" Asked Gus.

"That's what Harold said he saw," Shawn said.

Chuck smiled. "I saw something like that in a comic book once."

Everyone stared at Chuck for a moment, not saying anything. "Good point," Shawn said, finally. "Someone has thought of it before, so is it really _that _far-fetched? Bless you for your input, Carlos."

Chuck scratched behind his head and grinned, liking all these nicknames. Sarah smiled warmly at him, and he could tell it was genuine.

"Go on, Shawn," said Gus.

"So there was gold under the paint, and Brent may or may not have known about it. Maybe it was stolen gold, and the uncle was trying to secretly unload it onto his nephew. Anyway, it was there. Harold told Ollie about the scratch and when he went to look at it, he saw the gold and made the quick assumption that it was real. I'm sensing that Ollie scraped off more of the paint along the bottom so that Brent wouldn't notice it, and when he saw that the gold was all around, he knew that this car had to be worth, much, much more than it appeared. That day, he probably followed Brent home, took note of his address, and made a plan. Maybe, maybe he's got Brent, or maybe..."

On cue, Sarah began to cry and Chuck watched in awe. Shawn put his arm around her and pulled her in close, and Sarah played along by putting her head into his shoulder tenderly. "I'm so sorry, Sarah. But I promise you that Gus and I are going to get to the bottom of this."

"If there's anything that I can do for you, Miss Walker, please let me know," said Juliet.

"Thank...you," said Sarah in a very shaky manner.

"Shawn, are you sure you know what you're saying?" Said Gus. "I mean, it seems like you're jumping to a lot of conclusions here."

"Gus, please, don't underestimate the power of the spirits," said Shawn. "For Sarah's sake, I wish I were wrong, but unfortunately, I'm not."

Gus rolled his eyes.

"Well, since it seems like this case is getting more serious, maybe you guys should go talk to the chief again," suggested Juliet.

"Good idea," Shawn said softly, his arm still around Sarah. Again, she motioned for Chuck to stay where he was, maybe to keep an eye on Juliet, who was again looking at Shawn and Sarah. She turned herself away and looked back at her computer; then looked up at Chuck. "Um...Shawn and Sarah...are they-"

"Uh, I don't know," said Chuck quickly.

"Okay," she said. Again, went back to what she was doing and then spoke up again, with a smile on her face. "Do you like her?" She whispered.

"I...well, you know, that's...that depends on your definition of, you know, that word."

Juliet just grinned at him. "Does she know?"

"I'm really not sure. Uh, you know, Detective, one of those muffins you offered me yesterday is sounding pretty good right now."

"Sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have asked. And there aren't any muffins left today. There's coffee if you want some."

"No, that's okay, but thank you."

Chuck probably would have told Juliet about his relationship with Shawn if she weren't a suspect. He supposed he could have asked her about her relationship with Shawn to get more information about the case, but things like that weren't really something that men asked women about, especially ones they barely knew. Besides, that sort of thing was outside of Chuck's comfort zone anyway.

They both were silent until the chief came out of her office with Shawn, Gus, and Sarah. "O'Hara, Lassiter," she said, "I now want you both on this case. I'm going to ask you two to go with Mr. Spencer, Mr. Guster, and their clients to Calloway's house and take a look around. I know that four of you have already been there, but it can't hurt to sweep the place a second time."

Juliet and Lassiter got up from their desks and did as they were told, following the other four out the door and outside.


	5. Chapter 5

When everyone had arrived, Shawn lead the group to the driveway and sat down in the middle of it, his fingertips to his head as always. "Spencer, what are you doing?" Lassiter asked.

"I must sit on the ground and feel the heat from the pavement in order to read everything properly," he answered. "I see...glitter! Shiny...glimmering...gold! Yes, we are all looking for a gold fleck." Everybody looked down and searched until Juliet said, "Found it!"

Shawn got up and looked at the tiny piece of gold she had on her finger. "Perfect! Thank you, Jules. What'd we do without you?" She smiled warmly and Shawn continued, "Lassie, evidence bag." Shawn held out his hand and Lassiter handed him a bag in a manner that reminded Chuck of Casey.

After taking the bag, Shawn grabbed Juliet's hand gently and carefully put the piece of gold in the bag, then closed it up. When he was done, he gave the small sack to Juliet and walked back to the middle of the driveway, sticking his hands out. Chuck could tell that he was thinking hard.

Suddenly, he turned to Gus. "Wasn't that car in the same place yesterday?" He said, pointing to a white sedan parked across the street by the side of the road.

"Yeah, I think it was," Gus responded.

"Actually, that car's been here for a few days now. It doesn't belong to anyone around here, and it hasn't moved since it's been there," Sarah said.

"That's Ollie's," he said. "That's Ollie's car."

"We won't know that for sure until we check out the license plates, Spencer," said Lassiter.

"We will. But it works out. Ollie knew that there was gold under the paint of Brent's car. When he came to pick the car up, Ollie probably followed him back here. He parked his car right over there, got out and came to the driveway as Brent was going inside. Maybe they talked for a little bit, but I'm sensing that Ollie threatened Brent and told him to get in the car, and he drove it off with him inside."

Tears rolled down Sarah's cheeks yet again. Shawn began to comfort her once more and Chuck stood awkwardly. "He could be anywhere by now," she cried.

Shawn assured Sarah that they'd find him, and she said that she'd had enough for one day. After driving back to the Psych office, Chuck and Sarah drove around the block and then went to join Casey. Again, they listened to Shawn and Gus' conversation.

"Okay, Shawn, how did you do all that today?" Gus asked.

"Where? You mean at the station or at Brent's place?"

"Both."

"First of all, I noticed that one of the scraping...tool...thingies near where Harold the mechanic was had a little bit of gold on it, and I'm almost positive it wasn't paint, so obviously our friend Ollie had used it on Brent's car if Harold's telling the truth. I knew that if there was a paint scratch on the car like Harold said, there would probably be gold somewhere on the driveway. Last but not least, at Brent's house, when I sat down I realized that I was resting my butt on broken glass."

"You were sitting on shards of broken glass?"

"Yes, and it was extremely uncomfortable. I realized that there must have been some sort of struggle, and a window was broken. Maybe Ollie punched in the car window to show how serious he was."

"And what about Sarah? Are you gonna ask her out?"

"I'm thinking about it. Of course, her best friend is missing."

"Just tell her you want to take her out to help take her mind off her problems."

"Yeah, that could work. Ooh, I could take her to that sci-fi movie, uh...what's it called?"

"_Aliens and Avalanches?"_

"Yeah, that's it."

"Shawn, Sarah doesn't seem the like the type that would go for a poorly-made science fiction flick."

"Mmm, you're probably right."

"I have work to do, Shawn. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, there was no more dialogue and Casey turned off the sound in the van. "Well, you two can head back to Burbank. Right now I'm heading to the police station to wait for O'Hara to leave."

"Casey, do you really have to do that?" Asked Chuck.

"Chuck, I'm with Casey on this one," said Sarah. "I had my suspicions before, but I mean, today convinced me that obviously there is something going on between Shawn and Detective O'Hara."

Chuck thought back to the driveway and supposed he saw what Sarah was talking about. Shawn and Juliet certainly had some sort of...chemistry, he guessed. He still didn't think that Juliet had anything to do with the case, but at least now he saw the meaning behind Casey following her.

Sarah and Chuck said goodbye and headed home.

* * *

**Author's note: First off, thank you so much to all the people who have followed, favorited, and reviewed. Second off, my apologies for the short chapter. The next one will be longer (hopefully). Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the story!**


	6. Chapter 6

After Casey had returned to Burbank later that evening, the team made their report to General Beckman at his house. "I didn't find anything suspicious about O'Hara's behavior, General," Casey said. "So far we haven't found any damning evidence about any of those people."

"Well, you're going to have to keep looking," said the General.

"I'm doing my best to get closer to Spencer," said Sarah. "I think that might be our best shot at getting the truth out of him."

"Is it really? I mean surely there's…another way…" Chuck cleared his throat. "Or you know, maybe she's right and that _is…" _He sighed. "Go on."

"Do everything in your power, Agent Walker," said General Beckman. "I don't expect this mission to last much longer. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Sarah said, and Chuck and Casey did the same. The General then signed off.

Sarah turned to the other two. "Tomorrow, I'll ask Spencer out on a date and do my very best to get him to say something. If he doesn't...we might have to blow our covers and take him and some of the others back to Castle and interrogate them."

"Are you sure the General would want that?" Asked Chuck.

"Chuck, this mission is and was supposed to be quick. That's how it was designed. If we don't get something soon, it's doubtful that we ever will in this sort of manner."

Chuck sighed and nodded; then said goodnight and headed back home.

* * *

The next morning at the Psych office, Shawn and Gus were ecstatic to see Sarah and Chuck. "Guess what, you guys! Juliet ran the license plates on that car we found yesterday and they're definitely Ollie's!" Said Shawn.

"...which means that not only does Ollie go on vacation on the very day that Brent goes missing, but that his car was found outside of the man's house," Gus continued. "I'd say we've got ourselves a pretty strong lead."

"Wow," said Sarah. "That's great, but...how will we know were Ollie took Brent?"

"That's another thing," said Shawn. "Last night, while eating a very large bag of Doritos, I received a tip-off from the spirit world. I recalled that when we were talking with that Fargo guy, his feet were up on the desk that that there was white dust on his pants, just like the kind that were on mine after walking around in Brent's driveway, and-OH!" Shawn bent over, clutching his head with both hands.

"Are you okay?" Asked Sarah.

"I'm getting something very strong, something I can't believe I didn't see before! There was another mysterious object under Fargo's feet...a teeny, tiny piece of blue paint, of the very same color as Brent's car!" Shawn stood up again and smiled. "Huh...I wonder how that got there."

"Fargo was in on it?" Chuck said, already knowing the answer.

"You got it, Chazzy. Gus and I were just waiting for you guys to show up so we could go down to the police station and tell Lassie to bring him in to be grilled."

"Speaking of which, how about some grilled meat, Shawn? I haven't eaten since breakfast this morning, and all I had was a bowl of Fruit Loops."

"Gus, it's not even lunchtime yet," said Shawn. "And you might want to grab something now, because I don't think we'll be having lunch today. Dinner, we can do. Are you guys up for supper tonight?" He asked Sarah and Chuck.

Sarah took both of Shawn's hands. "Actually, I was wondering if I might take you out, just you and me, to say thank you, and to get my mind off of all of this," she said.

"Of course," said Shawn, "I'd love to. Gus, I hope you're okay with that."

"Whatever," he said. "I'm going to get me some meat, even if I have to dine alone to get it."

With that, the four left for the police station, and when they arrived, Shawn again flew to Juliet's desk. "Good news, Jules. We know of someone that needs some serious interrogation. A Mr. Patrick Fargo could potentially be quite deep in this investigation and should be taken in at his place of work immediately!"

Juliet didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I'm sorry Shawn, what?"

"Jules, you ruined my perfect word...flow...thing."

"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm next to positive that I was followed last night, and I'm just kind of distracted by it."

Sarah and Chuck exchanged worrisome looks.

"Someone followed you?" Shawn said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, but I've been sitting here all morning trying to figure out who would want to follow me, and why."

"What did he look like?"

"Well, I'd never seen him before. He was strong-looking, with brown hair, and...I don't really know much else. At first I saw thought he was just some guy from my neighborhood, because he was right behind me when I drove onto my street, but then I went out to the grocery store and I swear I saw him in the parking lot sitting in that same van that looked like it came right out of a spy movie or something. When I came home, I saw that same vehicle in my rear-view mirror."

"Who do you think it could be?" Asked Gus.

"That's the thing, it could be anyone from any of the cases I'm involved in now or any in the past, for that matter."

"You're not staying by yourself, are you?" Asked Shawn.

"Shawn, I have a gun, it's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but thank you."

"Okay," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"As Shawn was saying earlier, we need to bring in Patrick Fargo for interrogation. He might be Ollie's accomplice," said Gus.

Shawn explained to her his reasoning behind this accusation, and soon Patrick Fargo was sitting in Interrogation Room B. Lassiter and Juliet sat across from him at the table and Shawn, Gus, Sarah, and Chuck sat behind the two-way mirror.

"Mr. Fargo, how close are you to Ollie Jenkins?" Asked Juliet.

"We work together," he said. "But I've never cared much for him. He's a selfish cheapskate."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look, I've got a sick wife, and I don't make enough money. A few weeks back, I asked Jenkins for some help financially and he laughed in my face, even though I've seen how that creep lives. He's got a nice BMW and a house big enough for a family of twelve. You know, Solid Ground isn't the only place he owns. He's got a few other car places and a couple of restaurants, plus money he inherited from his parents."

"What do you know about Brent Calloway, Fargo?" Asked Lassiter.

Chuck could see the undercover agent portraying Fargo trying to let tension get to him. This was going great.

"I'll tell you what I told that psychic guy. He brought in his car and wanted an oil change. I told the new guy to do it. He did it. The guy came and got it, and the next thing I knew Ollie's calling and telling me he's gonna be gone for a while."

"He just left?"

"Yes."

"And he gave no indication as to where."

"N-no, he didn't."

Lassiter stood up and leaned over Fargo. "Listen, you lying little twerp, I wanna know where Jenkins is and I wanna know now."

"I told you, I don't know!"

Chuck suddenly saw Shawn walk out from behind the two-way mirror and go directly into the interrogation room. "Lassie, you're right. He is lying."

"Spencer, what the-" But Lassiter was interrupted by Shawn walking directly in front of him and going straight for Patrick Fargo.

"Last night, I had a vision. I saw dust, dirty, filthy dust, and not just any dust, driveway dust. It was on your pants, Fargo, and it came from Brent Calloway's driveway. And, as if that weren't enough, between the treads of your shoe...was a tiny bit of blue paint, in a hue matching that of Brent's car."

"Dust and paint? That's the evidence you have?"

"We all had that white chalky gravely stuff under our feet after being in Brent's driveway," said Shawn.

"But Shawn," said Juliet, "If Calloway went missing on Thursday, how could the dust have still been on his pants yesterday?"

"Because, Jules, he'd been back, maybe a few times." Shawn stared intently at him.

Fargo looked like he was about to crack, and then he did. "Okay, okay! I was in on it, and I'm not proud to admit that. That Calloway guy must be really rich, because Ollie found out that he had a layer of gold sitting under the paint of his car. He told me that he was gonna find a way to sell the car and that if I would cover for him and do some other things..."

"What other things?" Asked Lassiter.

"I had to go to the driveway and look for any gold that might have been left behind, 'Even if I had to crawl around on the ground for it,' he said. He also wanted me to feed his dogs while he was gone."

"Okay, continue."

"...he said that if I did those things, I could have a share of the money, for my wife. He never said anything about hurting the kid, he just said that somehow he'd convince him to sell it. I wasn't thinking right, I haven't been since my wife got admitted to the hospital. It was a really stupid thing to do."

Sarah began to cry in front of Gus, and she collapsed into Chuck's arms. He certainly wasn't complaining now.

"Then where's Jenkins?" Lassiter said.

"I really don't know; he didn't tell me. But I wouldn't be surprised if Ollie's taking Calloway to Florida. He's got a summer home in West Palm Beach where he has this big garage for all his cars."

"Florida?" Cried Sarah.

"We'll call the police department there and see what we can do," Juliet said to Shawn. He nodded and then returned back behind the two-way mirror.

Sarah thanked him and Gus for his efforts and told him that for now, she just wanted to go back home and would see him tonight for their date. As everyone rode back to the Psych office, Chuck was full of questions. Casey was great at following people, so how was it possible that Juliet had saw him—three times? _Well, she is a detective,_ he thought. _And a cop, so she has to look out for stuff like that all the time._ Still, Chuck knew that the fact that she had caught onto him was probably driving Casey nuts.

Next, he wondered how Sarah was going to drive anything out of Shawn that evening. She was smart and probably had a plan, but still he worried that they would get nowhere in the next few hours, and in that case...well, it was back to Castle...with Shawn, Gus, and maybe even Juliet and Lassiter.

Again, Shawn and Gus didn't stop talking until Sarah and Chuck got out of the car, and all was silent between them until they opened the door to the white van and received an immediate grunt from Casey.


End file.
